Apparatus for twisting yarn



y 2, 1967 D. A. E. MATTINGLY 3,316,699

APPARATUS FOR TWISTING YARN Filed Oct. 6, 1964 5 Shets-Sheet 1 -r l L 3L 5 \8 i L XL g 70 i 1 1 1 E L c y 2, 1997 D. A. E. MATTINGLY 3,316,699

APPARATUS FOR TWISTING YARN Filed Oct. 6, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 2, 1957 D. A. E. MATTINGLY 3,316,599

' APPARATUS FOR TWISTING YARN Filed Oct. 6, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l i gl 1 I 25g 722 7 i 4 47 L 1P w FIG] WM/M United States Patent 3,316,699 APPARATUS FOR TWISTllNG YARN Denis Albert Edward Mattingly, London, England, assignor to The Klinger Manufacturing Company Limited, London, England, a British company Filed Oct. 6, 1964, Ser. No. 401,851 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 16, 1963, 40,929/ 63 5 Claims. (Cl. 5793) This invention relates to apparatus for the processing of yarn which process includes imparting a twist to yarn, for example, uptwisters, down or ring twisters and false twisting apparatus.

In all such apparatus it is desirable to co-ordinate or synchronise the rate of travel of the yarn through the apparatus with the speed of the means imparting the twist to the yarn in order that the degree of twist remains substantially constant under all operating conditions. Factors which may affect the degree of twist include variations in load on the prime movers driving the apparatus particularly where an apparatus is adapted to process a plurality of yarns and the full capacity is not employed for the entire time the apparatus is in operation, and where the prime move-rs are electric motors a variation in the voltage of the supply current.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for treating yarn wherein twist is imparted to yarn, the said apparatus including a first prime mover driving means for causing the yarn to travel through the apparatus and a second prime mover driving means for imparting twist to the yarn, the speeds of said prime movers being electrically interrelated whereby the degree of twist imparted to the yarn is maintained substantially constant. The prime movers can be electric motors; the electric motors can each be synchronous induction motors energised from a common source of supply so that the relative speeds thereof remain substantially constant. The motors can be three phase motors.

The prime movers can drive generators of electrical current the electrical outputs of which are proportional to the speeds of their respective prime movers, which outputs are fed to means adapted to automatically adjust the speed of at least one of said prime movers so as to maintain a desired output from each of said generators and thereby maintain the speeds of the prime movers in a predetermined desired relationship. The means adapted to automatically adjust the speed of at least one of said prime movers can include a bridge circuit, a variation in the output from one of said generators causing an unbalance of said bridge circuit, which unbalance operates means for varying the speed of one of said prime movers so as to rebalance said bridge circuit whereby the speeds of said prime movers are maintained in the predetermined desired relationship. The means adapted to automatically adjust the speed of at least one of said prime movers can be adjustable so as to vary the speed relationship between said first and said second prime mover.

One of said prime movers can drive a generator of electric pulses or alternating electric supply which supply is arranged to control the speed of the other of said prime movers; means can be included for amplifying the electric pulses from said generator which amplified pulses are arranged to control the speed of said other prime mover. The generator of electric pulses can be driven by said first prime mover and the prime mover driving said means imparting the twist to the yarn can be a synchronous induction motor or a hysteresis motor energised by said electric pulses or alternating current. The frequency of the electric pulses can be adjustable relative to the speed of the first prime mover; the generator can include a rotor having a number of magnetic studs spaced apart around 3,316,699 Patented May 2, 1967 its circumference, the rotor being detachably secured to a driven shaft, a number of such rotors being provided having varying numbers of magnetic studs secured thereto. Alternatively the generator can be driven by the first prime mover through a variable transmission.

The twist imparted to the yarn can be a step in the false twisting of the yarn; the apparatus can be a false twisting apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for the processing of yarn wherein the yarn is drawn from a supply bobbin, passed through a twisting head and wound on a rotatable take-up spool including means for causing the yarn to travel through the apparatus driven by a first prime mover the speed of which is electrically related to the speed of a second prime mover for driving said twisting head; means for rotating said take-up spool can be driven by the first prime mover. Each of said prime movers can be electric motors.

The first electric motor can drive a generator of two phase alternating current which energises the second electric motor driving said twisting head. The second electric motor driving said twisting head can be a hysteresis motor.

The apparatus can have a plurality of means for causing the yarn to travel through the apparatus, a plurality associated twisting heads and means for rotating a plurality of take-up spools and said first prime mover can be arranged to drive said means for causing the yarn to' travel through the apparatus and the means for rotating the take-up spools and the second prime mover can be arranged to drive the twisting heads. The second prime mover can drive the twisting heads through a belt drive.

The apparatus can have a plurality of means for causing the yarn to travel through the apparatus, a plurality associated twisting heads and a plurality of rotatable takeup spool-s and said first prime mover can be arranged to drive the means for causing the yarn to travel through the apparatus and a generator of electrical current the output of which generator controls the speed of a plurality of synchronous or hysteresis motors each of which motors drives a twisting head. The apparatus can be adapted to process a plurality of yarns on both sides thereof.

According to a further aspect of the present invention apparatus for false twisting a plurality of yarns can comprise a first feed means for drawing the yarns from supply bobbins, a plurality of false twist devices for twisting the yarn, yarn conditioning or setting means whereby the twist imparted to the yarn prior to the yarn passing through the false twist devices is set therein, second feed means for drawing the yarn through said conditioning means and said false twist devices, means for supporting and rotating a plurality of take-up spools on which the false twisted yarn is wound and means for traversing the yarn on to said spools to form packages, a first electrical motor for driving said first and said second feed means and for rotating said take-up spools, a second electrical motor for driving said false twist device and a third electrical motor for driving said traverse mechanism, the speeds of said first and said second motors being electrically related to ensure uniform crimp characteristics of the twisted yarn. The electrical relationship between said first and said second electrical motors can comprise a feed back from generators of electrical current driven by each of said motors to control means wherein variations in speed of one of said motors is compensated for by a variation in the speed of the other motor so as to maintain the number of turns of twist imparted to any given length of the yarn substantially constant.

The electrical relationship between said first and said second motors can consist in each of said first and second motors being synchronous induction motors energised from a common source of alternating current supply.

By way of example, embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings wherein like parts have the same reference numeral and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of one form of false twisting apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of another form of false twisting apparatus;

FIGURE 3 shows modifications to that part of FIG- URE 2 concerned with driving the twisting heads and the feed means;

FIGURE 4 is a view on an enlarged scale of the internal construction of the generator shown in FIGURES 2 and 3; and

FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 show further modifications of those parts of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 concerned with the driving of the feed means and the false twisting heads.

The arrangement of FIGURE 1 shows one form of false twisting apparatus in which the yarn travels in a general downward direction. The apparatus includes means 1 for supporting supply bobbins 2 of yarn 3 on a machine frame 4. The yarn 3 is caused to travel through the apparatus by feed means shown generally at and 6, which feed means comprises in known manner a driven roller or shaft 7 and idler rollers 8 urged into contact with each other to form a nip therebetween and so grip the yarn. Prior to passing through a twisting head 9 the yarn passes over or through yarn conditioning means 10 which may be, for example, as described in US. patent specification Nos. 2,958,921 or 3,015,872. The twisting heads 9 may be described for example in US. patent specification Nos. 3,040,511 or 2,813,393. As shown in FIG- URE 1 they are arranged to be driven by a flight of a belt 11 which passes around a driven pulley 12 secured to the output shaft 13 of an electric motor 14. The false twisted yarn is wound to form a package on a take-up spool 15 driven by its periphery from a cork faced roller 16 secured to a driving shaft 17, the yarn being guided on to the spool 15 by guide 18 secured to inextensible steel band 19. The steel band 19 passes round pulleys 20 at each end of the apparatus, to one of which pulleys is imparted a rocking motion by a cam mechanism 43 driven by an electric motor 44 so as to reciprocate the guide 18 backwards and forwards in front of the takeup spool 15 so that an even package is formed.

The driven shafts 7 of the feed means 5 and 6 and the shafts 17 each have secured to one end thereof sprockets 21 around which a driving chain 22 passes, the chain 22 also passing round a sprocket 23 secured to a driving shaft 24 of an electric motor 25.

Each of the motors 14 and 25 are synchronous induction motors and are connected to a common source of supply of alternating current with the result that, in operation, the speed of the twisting heads relative to the speed of the feed means is maintained constant and the crimp imparted to the yarn is correspondingly constant.

The degree of twist imparted to the yarn may be varied by changing the sprockets 21 or 23 in the transmission from the motor 25, alternatively the size of the pulley 12 around which the belt 11 driving the twisted heads may be varied.

The arrangement of FIGURE 2 shows another form of false twisting machine in which the yarn 3 travels in a generally upward direction from supply bobbins 2 through or over conditioning means 10, through twisting heads 9 and feed means 5 before being wound to form a package on take-up spools 15.

In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention each of the twisting heads 9 are driven by separate synchronous motors 26 through a mechanical transmissinn 27 which is shown as a chain and sprocket transmission. The electric motor 25 also drives a generator 28 of electric pulses or alternating current which current flows through conductors 29 to an amplifier 30, the amplified current energising each of the synchronous motors 26 driving the twisting heads 9.

As shown more clearly in FIGURE 4 the generator of the electric pulses or alternating electric current includes a rotor 31 secured to a driven shaft 32 and provided with a number of studs 33 of magnetic material spaced apart around the circumference of the rotor. Arranged opposite the path of movement of the studs 33 is a magnetic core 34 encircled by a coil 35 in which electric pulses are induced when the rotor is driven round.

In the arrangement as shown in FIGURE 3 the twisting heads 9 include an electrical hysteresis driving motor as described in our United States Patent No. 3,241,304. In this arrangement means 36 are included to provide a two phase supply of alternating current to energise the hysteresis motors.

In either of the arrangements shown in FIGURES 2 or 3, a number of rotors 31 may be provided each having a different number of magnetic studs 33 according to the required frequency of impulses to obtain the desired degree of twist in the yarn. In the arrangement shown in FIGURE 5 the transmission from the motor 25 to the generator 28 includes a variable speed gearbox 37 by which means the variation in the degree of twist may be obtained.

FIGURE 6 shows yet another alternative arrangement in which the twisting heads 9 are driven by a single driving motor 14 through a transmission means such as a belt as shown in FIGURE 1. In this embodiment the motors 14 and 25, which can be A.C. or D.C. electric motors, have connected thereto by driving shafts 14a and 25a generators 38 and 39 the electrical outputs of which are related to their speeds. These electrical outputs flow through conductors 40 and 41 to control means 42 which controls the amount of current passing from the power supply to each of the motors 14 and 25, which control means includes a bridge circuit. The bridge circuit is arranged so that the outputs from the generators 38 and 39 are balanced when the relative speeds of the motors 14 and 25 are in the desired relationship to obtain the desired crimp in the twisted yarn. In operation, a variation in the speed of one of the motors 14 or 25 effects a variation in the output from the generator 38 or 39 respectively. This variation in output causes an unbalance in the bridge circuit which in turn causes the control means 42 to cause a corresponding variation in the speed of the other electric motor to restore the balance of the bridge circuit. In this way the speed of the motors 14 and 25 are maintained in the predetermined desired relationship to obtain the required degree of crimp in the yarn.

The control means 42 can include adjustable means 45 whereby the characteristics of the bridge circuit may be adjusted to vary the speed relationship of the motors 14 and 25.

In any of the alternative arrangements described above is may be desirable to arrange for the motor 25 to drive the feed means through a variable speed gearbox 46 as shown in FIGURE 7. By this means the rate of travel of the yarn through the apparatus may be varied without varying the degree of twist imparted to the yarn.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for false twisting a plurality of yarns comprising a first feed means for drawing the yarns from supply bobbins, a plurality of false twist devices for twisting the yarn, yarn conditioning or setting means whereby the twist imparted to the yarn prior to the yarn passing through the false twist device is set therein, second feed means for drawing the yarns through said conditioning means and said false twist devices, means for supporting and rotating a plurality of take-up spools on which the false twisted yarn is wound and means for traversing the yarn on to said spools to form packages, a first electrical motor for driving said first and said second feed means and for rotating said spool, a second electrical motor for driving said false twist device and a third electrical motor for driving said traverse mechanism, a generator of electrical current driven by said first electrical motor and a generator of electrical current driven by said second electrical motor, the outputs of said generators being related to their speeds, control means adapted to automatically maintain the speeds of said first and said second electrical motors in a predetermined desired relationship, said control means being responsive to variations in the outputs of said generators of electrical current.

2. Apparatus for the processing of yarn comprising a plurality of means for supporting supply bobbins, a plurality of means for causing the yarns to travel through the apparatus, a first electric motor adapted to drive said means for causing the yarn to travel through the apparatus, a plurality of twisting heads, a second electric motor adapted to drive said twisting heads, a plurality of rotatable take-up spools adapted to be driven by the first electric motor, and a generator of electrical pulses adapted to be driven by said first electric motor, which electrical pulses are arranged to energize said second electric motor the speed of which is responsive to the frequency of the electrical pulses.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 comprising a plurality of said second electric motors, each said second electric motor being associated with one of said false twisting heads and all said second electric motors being energized by the electrical pulses generated by said generator adapted to be driven by said first electric motor.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which the generator of electrical pulses is adjustable to adjust the frequency of the electrical pulses relative to the speed of the first electrical motor.

5. Apparatus for the processing of yarn comprising a plurality of means for causing the yarns to travel through the apparatus, a first electric motor adapted to drive said means for causing the yarns to travel through the apparatus, a plurality of twisting heads, a second electric motor adapted to drive said twisting heads, first and second electrical generators driven respectively by said first and second electric motors, respective output signals of said generators being dependent on their speeds, control means adapted to maintain' automatically the speeds of said first and second motors in a predetermined desired relationship, said control means being responsive to variations in the output signals of said first and second generators.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,124,415 7/1938 Green 318-78 2,692,360 10/1954 Wynne 31871 2,697,807 12/1954 Pell 318-7 3,091,912 6/1963 Stoddard et al 57-34 X FOREIGN PATENTS 847,941 9/ 1960 Great Britain.

FRANK I. COHEN, Primary Examiner. A. J. SIDOTI, D. WATKINS, Assistant Examiners. 

1. APPARATUS FOR FALSE TWISTING A PLURALITY OF YARNS COMPRISING A FIRST FEED MEANS FOR DRAWING THE YARNS FROM SUPPLY BOBBINS, A PLURALITY OF FALSE TWIST DEVICES FOR TWISTING THE YARN, YARN CONDITIONING OR SETTING MEANS WHEREBY THE TWIST IMPARTED TO THE YARN PRIOR TO THE YARN PASSING THROUGH THE FALSE TWIST DEVICE IS SET THEREIN, SECOND FEED MEANS FOR DRAWING THE YARNS THROUGH SAID CONDITIONING MEANS AND SAID FALST TWIST DEVICES, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING AND ROTATING A PLURALITY OF TAKE-UP SPOOLS ON WHICH THE FALSE TWISTED YARN IS WOUND AND MEANS FOR TRAVERSING THE YARN ON TO SAID SPOOLS TO FORM PACKAGES, A FIRST ELECTRICAL MOTOR FOR DRIVING SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND FEED MEANS AND FOR ROTATING SAID SPOOL, A SECOND ELECTRICAL MOTOR FOR DRIVING SAID FALSE TWIST DEVICE AND 